


Three Questions

by MsJackofAllFandoms



Series: 30 Day Writing Challenge 2011 [13]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: An affair between OCs, F/M, M/M, Romance, Unrequited Love, but not a sad one either, not quite a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-11
Updated: 2011-04-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:59:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9685874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsJackofAllFandoms/pseuds/MsJackofAllFandoms
Summary: There are three kinds of questions you can ask people. Questions you want the answers to, Questions you already know the answers to, and Questions you ask in the hopes that nobody will answer, just so you can go about your business. In the years he’d known Percy, Oliver had asked him all three of them.





	

_Questioning: ques·tion·ing_  
 /ˈkwɛstʃənɪŋ/  
–noun  
an inquiry or interrogation. 

  
There are three kinds of questions you can ask people. Questions you want the answers to, Questions you already know the answers to, and Questions you ask in the hopes that nobody will answer, just so you can go about your business. In the years he’d known Percy, Oliver had asked him all three of them.  
  
The question he’d asked in the hopes that Percy wouldn’t actually know the answer to just so he could get on with his own plans for the night, was “Don’t you think even Snape has better things to do than mark essays of a week night?”   
  
They’d been arguing about Oliver’s extra practices clashing with his homework time, when they were in seventh year. Oliver had needed Percy’s help with maybe one or two of his essays, and Percy was always willing to offer help to people who needed or wanted it. Unfortunately for Oliver, the help came with a lecture on time management and he just didn’t want to hear it, nor did he have time to.   
  
Looking back, Oliver figured maybe Percy had a point.   
  
Oliver just wanted to get his essays sorted so he could get to late-evening practice on time. It was the only time he could book the pitch, but the late time didn’t sit very well with his team and he knew that if he was even one minute late to the dressing room, they’d just go. So he’d needed to wrap it up.  
  
He never was sure whether it his question or his rather mean spirited frustrated yell of “Get a life, Percy” after it, that was what silenced his dorm mate to a brisk nod and a quiet, “Maybe you have a point.”  
  
At least he got to practice in time enough to stop his chasers from forming a coup d’etat. 

 

  
  
The question he’d asked Percy that he’d already known the answer to was “She was a bitch to you, wasn’t she?”   
  
Just after Hogwarts, Oliver had worked hard to get his position as Keeper for Puddlemere United. It took blood, sweat and tears, and maybe a few broken bones, to get where he’d wanted to be. Whatever friendship he’d had with Percy during his time at Hogwarts had waned to a few courtesy letters back and forth, and even then Oliver didn’t always reply.   
  
It wasn’t until they’d met by chance in Diagnon Alley and arranged a meet up at the Leaky later that day, that Oliver realised what he was missing. His life had always been a constant chant of QuidditchQuidditchQuidditch-Oh-no-Potion’s-EssayQuidditchQuidditchQuidditch. He’d hardly had time to eat and sleep, never mind good friendships. So he started a’fresh, with Percy.  
  
Things had gone well until Rebecca had come into the picture. She was a reserve Puddlemere chaser and he’d thought it was Love at first Sight. She was perfect. She had the personality, the looks and the brains. He thought that that would mean she’d get on with Percy, too, but they never clicked.  Infact, the more time he spent with Rebecca, the less time he spent with Percy just so the two wouldn’t clash. He didn’t want to blame Percy, but he ended up blaming him anyway. Percy would never give a substantial reason as to why he didn’t like Rebecca, and Oliver never really did think about Rebecca liking Percy.  
  
All Percy would say was, “It’s not my business who you go out with, we just don’t get on.” Before returning to his work, or changing the subject, or making an excuse to leave his flat…  
  
Things started to turn sour with Rebecca when Hugh Littlewoods, the team’s second chaser, went into retirement and was replaced by Catherine Cadwallader. The position Rebecca was after and had felt she deserved, and felt Oliver didn’t do enough to help her get…

  
__  
“What could I have done?!”  
  
“Oh don’t play thick, Oliver. You’re their golden player now, you could have made a suggestion. They’d have listened.”  
  
“I’m just the keeper! And besides, it doesn’t work that way. You either work on your own merit like the rest of us or you don’t get anywhere.”  
  
“Well that’s nice, Oliver. Nice to know where you’re priorities lie!” 

__  
  
Their relationship didn’t last very long after that. Rebecca seemed to take his words to heart, spending more time practicing and less time with him, but when Oliver had to go in to the Puddlemere United stadium grounds on his day off, he found out he’d assumed wrongly.

 

Rebecca was at the grounds, like she said she’d be, but nowhere in her plans for her day did she mentioned she’d be getting naked and kissing one of the Puddlemere United reserve beaters. Oliver couldn’t bare to watch. He walked far away enough way from them so that he wouldn’t be heard when he apparated to Percy’s office. Though why he gave them the courtesy, he couldn’t say.

  
Percy had jumped up in fright when Oliver had apparated in to the room. He started to berate him for just entering without thought, until he looked up from his desk to look at him properly.   
His face softened, knowing something must have happened.  
  
“Give me two minutes and we’ll get out of here. I’ve just got to finish off this report.” Percy said to him, as he cleared up the ink spill caused when he’d jumped up. “Most important, reports of muggles turning up obliviated. Have to sign off on an investigation. Three of us needed, you see. Have a seat, Ol, you’re making the place look un-tidy.” To Percy's credit, he at least bothered to gesture gently, so Oliver sat down on the couch at the side of Percy’s office.

He’d been in Percy’s office a few times, usually to persuade Percy to leave it for the night, but he’d never sat down on the couch before. He was surprised to find it quite comfortable, if not a bit springy.   
  
“Take your time,” He’d told Percy, not wanting to interrupt anything important. He wasn’t that person anymore.

He could tell Percy had rushed anyway. 

  
When Percy was done, they’d headed to The Leaky Couldron, with Percy’s usual lecture about _drinking in the middle of the day_ being sidelined before it could even be said. Oliver had downed two pints within too short a time of each other, and could feel the buzz hit him harder than usual. Not having eaten anything yet probably hadn’t helped.

The question rung in the air, but Oliver didn’t regret it. He already knew the answer, how could he not?   
  
Oliver felt himself just talking without care “Rebecca was a bitch. She used me for her career. My _fame_ , which is laughable. I’m just the keeper, I don’t have any _fame_.”   
  


Percy sighed and moved Oliver’s glass away from him. “What do you want me to say, Oliver? Do you want me to agree with you, and then forget I said anything if you get back together with her?”  
  
Oliver felt confused. Maybe it was the beer, but where did he even suggest he’d get back together with her? “Percy, I just want someone to be honest. She wasn’t honest. I’m not getting back together with her.”  
  
Percy nodded. “Then yes", he eventually replied, "She was a bitch to me, and she used you. You deserved better than her.”

 

  
  
The question he’d asked that he’d wanted the answer to; really, really wanted the answer to, was “How long?”  
  
Oliver felt dizzy. Of all the things he was expecting, of all the things Percy could have said, it wasn’t that.

He tried to think through the course of the conversation. First they were celebrating Oliver’s new Five Year contract with Puddlemere United and going an impressive eight months of living together without killing each other with their bad cooking, or resorting back to their Hogwarts-Childhood selves, then they’d had a few pints, teasing each other about the way they’d been during school, the way they were still like that but older, a bit wiser.  
  
Oliver supposed that’s what happens when you nearly lose your whole family.  
  
And then…  
  
Oliver shook his head, and looked at Percy. Percy, who was sat on the far end of the couch, wrinkling his noise; whose face was warm and red from too much alcohol and maybe a bit of embarrassment as he too thought over their conversation.  
  
“How long, Percy?” he repeated.  
  
Percy shook his head, “I’ve drunk way too much.” He threw a pointed look at Oliver, “Or not enough. Not to talk about this.”  
  
“But… Penelope?”   
  
Percy shook his head again, “I really don’t want to talk about this, Oliver. I didn’t mean to say anything, I _Never_ planned to say anything, so lets forget I said anything and blame the alcohol.”  
  
Oliver couldn’t piece it all together, let alone forget what Percy said. He needed for it to all make sense. “No. Come on, Percy, you must have said it for some reason.”  
  
“You were putting yourself down! You said you spent every waking moment thinking about quidditch, that you didn’t care about anything or anyone else! That it was no wonder Rebecca was a bitch. It wasn’t Karma, Oliver. It was just bad judgement on your behalf.”   
  
Oliver downed the rest of his drink, “And after all that I put you through, you still-“  
  
Percy cut him off, “Yes, Oliver. If we have to talk about this, I will admit your apathetic behaviour towards our friendship after Hogwarts stung a little. I thought when Rebecca entered the picture, that I would be put to the back once again. But do you know what, Oliver? I was alright because I’ve known since seventh year-“  
“Seventh year!?”  
“-that there was no realm of possibility of there being an us. I enjoyed our friendship, what little there was of it, but I had my life and you had yours. Really, I enjoyed you not being around as much. It help me keep things in perspective... and these words are really hard to say with this much alcohol in me.”  
  
Percy leant forward and picked up another bottle of _Olde Melvin’s Beer_ “Can we just continue this night like I never said anything, please?”   
  
Oliver felt like he was having an out of body experience. It was like he was hearing the words but couldn’t believe what they meant. Percy, his friend Percy, all that time…  
  
Oliver felt himself shaking his head and saying, “No.”  
  
He watched as Percy lowered his beer bottle and sighed. He addressed the wall some few feet away from his head, “Would it help if I said sorry? I really never meant for all of this time come out.”  
  
“No,” he waved his free hand, “that’s not what I meant.” He put his free bottle on to the coffee table, next to the other empty bottles. “I never knew. You never said anything. We’ve known each other nearly ten years now, and… Penelope!”   
  
Percy groaned, “Please don’t mention Penelope. In fact, Oliver, this is… I really didn’t mean-“  
  
“I know.” He said, gently, “but… it’s a surprise, Percy.”  
  
“You were putting yourself down. You were a Quidditch obsessed fiend in Hogwarts, but you don’t give yourself enough credit. I oly meant to defend you.”  
  
Oliver nodded, and tried to think through the fuzz the alcohol had created. “Well, thank you. I feel well defended, and flattered.”  
  
Percy cleared his throat, and nodded. “Well, yes. You’re, erm, you’re welcome.”

  
  
Oliver reached for another bottle off the coffee table. He let the silence lie a while, ad more importantly let Percy return back to his normal colour. But Oliver was itching to know more. He knew he was walking a fine line but, well, Oliver had plenty of his own secrets to share as a placating tool if it came down to it.

 

After they both finished their bottles of beer, mostly in silence and Percy didn't look too uncomfortable, just sad. So Oliver decided to ask his next question:“So, has it just been me all this time-“  
  
Percy gave him a warning look, “Really Oliver, enough with the questions.”  
  
Oliver nodded again, and conceded. He opened a new bottle and passed another one to Percy, “But tomorrow, we’re going to find you a boyfriend.”  
  
“Oliver,” Percy accepted the bottle roughly, tried to protest to offer.  
  
“No, really, 10 years lusting after me must be getting boring. No,-”  
  
“Oliver!” Percy repeated, quite red in the face.  
  
“I know this dashing young beater, plays for The Bumblebees.”  
  
“Oliver, really now-“  
  
“You know, if quidditch players are your type. And I know for a fact that he’s gay, because he’s hit on me a few times. Made Rebecca quite jealous… In fact it made one of the reserve chasers quite jealous too… Now that's interesting. I'll have to do some low key investigating just to make sure I'm not about to throw you into a love triangle...”  
  
Oliver saw Percy roll his eyes out of the corner of his own eye, but he was on a roll.

It was funny where some answers to some questions could lead you.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written in 2011. Not beta read, so please let me know if you spot any mistakes.


End file.
